Res ipsa loquitur ("The thing itself speaks")

I previously criticized the city council for putting up a statute in front of city hall honoring Marion Barry, the scandal-plagued felon and former mayor. Now Barry’s replacement at the Eighth Ward is filling the news vacuum with a controversy of his own: stating in a video that snow is a Jewish conspiracy by wealthy bankers. Democrat Trayon White warned that the Rothschilds were manipulating the weather to cash in on the disasters. The implications are staggering as you connect the dots with White from the Jewish conspiracy behind the movie “White Christmas” to that Rothschild agent Santa Claus.

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the issuance of a subpoena to the Trump organization for records pertinent to Trump business dealings in Russia. President Trump previously responded to a question of whether such inquiries into his business dealings would be a “red line” by saying that it would. Whether it is a red line or a “Rubicon,” Mueller seems to have crossed it. Of course, the Trump Organization has been asked for information previously and it is cooperating. However, this is a direct demand for business records. In the best case scenario, this could be a clean up subpoena to guarantee that all available documents have been reviewed. Then again it might be a new front in the investigation. Notably, this weekend, President Trump and his counsel ramped up their criticism of the investigation — criticism that I continue to view as unwise and inappropriate.

I have previously criticized President Donald Trump for his continuing use of Twitter to comment on pending litigation and attack the Special Counsel investigation. This weekend, Trump unleashed a torrent of criticism on Mueller, McCabe, and others. Trump not only raised the political affiliation of the Mueller team members, but celebrated the firing of Andrew McCabe. I found the McCabe comments to be particularly objectionable. No matter how one feels about McCabe’s conduct (and we still have not read the Inspector General’s report), the man was just fired after a highly accomplished career as a public servant. The tweet felt more like a taunt against a man who just experienced a crushing loss.

Below is my column on various proposal for gun control reforms after the latest school massacre in Florida. As the column discusses, the constitutional burden is more demanding than suggested by many politicians. This is clearly a right that is subject to reasonable limitations but it is an individual constitutional right that affords gun owners a higher protection in the court.

I have previously discussed the blunders of the Trump legal team and how they have undermined their client, including missteps by counsel John Dowd. (here and here and here). This weekend saw yet another Dowd statement and retraction on a subject of immense importance to his client. Dowd is quoted as calling for the termination of the Mueller investigation in the name of President Trump. After an outcry and reported contradiction from the White House, Dowd insisted that he was speaking just for himself.

Alicia Murphy, 60, is under arrest for allegedly stealing the 1969 Preakness Stakes trophy. The trophy belonged to the wealthy owner of Majestic Prince and was stolen from a storage facility in Delray Beach, Florida. It is a curious item to steal since it would be immediately recognizable in any attempt to pawn or fence. It was among hundreds of items stolen from the facility. Police stated that the trophy was immediately recognized and reported by an auction house.

A concerning practice has emerged over the years where intermediary service providers proffer to obtain apostille certifications on behalf of the those unfamiliar with the credentialing process for documents sent overseas. Unscrupulous providers charge hundreds and some over a thousand dollars for several documents while a typical cost assessed by each state’s secretary of state centers around fifteen dollars per document.

Most of these providers are unregulated and operate from virtual offices or use addresses traceable to private mail box companies such as the UPS Store. Some go so far as making promises of authenticity under legally questionable guises.